Tag: book reviews

Review – Started Early, Took My Dog

Posted December 13, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate AtkinsonStarted Early, Took My Dog, Kate Atkinson

Read for a reading challenge, and that’s the only reason I stuck with it. At all. The prompt for this one was “set in your hometown”, and Leeds was the closest I found. So I knew the Merrion Centre, where part of it was set, etc. I wasn’t impressed, though; the narration was really meandering, not always on point at all, and it takes ages to really get started. I kind of have difficulty with the idea of Tracy buying a prostitute’s daughter in this casual way, and I roooooolled my eyes at all the stereotypes about her being fat, a battle-axe, looks like a lesbian, etc, etc. And the stereotypical elderly lady, starting to succumb to dementia.

So I started off on a bad foot with this book, and stayed on it. I didn’t settle into the style at all — the book nearly hit the wall at some points, I found it so frustrating.

Very much not for me, in any sense. I hesitate to say it’s a bad book, because there’s no accounting for taste and all that, but it really wasn’t something I’d recommend.

Rating: 1/5

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Review – Zoomigurumi

Posted December 12, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Cover of ZoomigurumiZoomigurumi, Amigurumipatterns.net

I gather that my sister demanded I be bought this, so I could make her the admittedly adorable monkey on the front. The cat, donkey and monkey patterns are all cute and well done, particularly — the same basic model basically lies behind all of these, and none looks difficult. If you have the basics of crochet and sewing projects together down, you should be fine to make just about anything in here. It has the usual sort of introduction showing how to do basic stitches and explaining abbreviations, etc, too. The patterns are all in text; no need to have any skill in learning how to read a pattern.

I’m mostly surprised my mother hasn’t bought me the third in the series, which has a really cute hedgehog on the cover, and a hippo pattern allegedly inside as well.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Graveyard Book

Posted December 11, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of The Graveyard Book by Neil GaimanThe Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
Originally reviewed 26th December, 2008

I got The Graveyard Book for Christmas, yesterday, and devoured it in a single day despite also reading other stuff, watching movies, going shopping, seeing friends and all those things you do when you’re home for Christmas. It’s lovely. I like some of Neil’s other books, like Neverwhere and American Gods, better, but at the same time this one has its attractions. It feels more… bite-size. Easily digestible.

I haven’t actually read The Jungle Book, so I can’t make comparisons with that original inspiration, but I do love the idea of this: a boy gets raised, in a graveyard, by ghosts. In some ways, I wish there’d been less Bod and more Silas, but on the other hand it was quite nice to feel that there was a whole world of stories there and we got glimpses into many of them. I liked the episodic sort of form; I wish there’d been more episodes, though. I also liked that although we are given many, many hints about Silas, the word “vampire” is not used once.

The strength of this book for me was the voices. The narrative voice included. The dry little comments about Silas, the parenthetical dates of births and deaths… it all added up to make me smile often and giggle a few times. Silas’ character was lovely, and the glimpse we got into his feelings in the last chapter was fascinating. The Owenses were good, I could virtually hear their voices as I read their lines — helped, of course, by having listened to the recordings of Neil Gaiman reading this aloud.

Not my favourite book in the whole wide world, but nonetheless a keeper, something easy and smooth for when I’m not feeling up to a mammoth undertaking.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Code Name Verity

Posted December 10, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Code Name Verity by Elizabeth WeinCode Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein

I really liked Wein’s books about Mordred and his children, at least as far as I remember them (it was a few years ago), so I was quite hopeful about this one. I’ve tried to read it once before, actually; I think I even got a review copy from Netgalley. But I really didn’t click with it. For one thing, the tone is too casual, Verity’s gambit too obvious. Parts of the unreliable narration are done really well, but it remained impossible for me to imagine that a German officer trying to get information would really allow Verity to keep writing about picnics and the exact details of civilian life in such a mundane way.

I ended up skimming this a lot, so any emotional impact was also lost on me. I know a lot of people really loved this, but it did not work at all for me. And I couldn’t really imagine a young female spy in WWII saying things like “dead embarrassing” about ending up crying.

Rating: 1/5

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Review – At the Edge of Uncertainty

Posted December 8, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Edge of Uncertainty by Michael BrooksAt the Edge of Uncertainty, Michael Brooks

I picked this up after attending the New Scientist “instant expert” workshop on consciousness. Michael Brooks introduced the lecturers and such, and chaired the Q&A session, and it was mentioned one of his books mentions epigenetics. Well, that’s possibly even more my thing than a workshop on consciousness, so of course I picked it up.

It’s an overview of the parts of science where we don’t quite know what’s happening. Where the story becomes blurred and you definitely don’t teach it in GCSE Physics, because even eminent scientists aren’t sure what to believe. It makes things we take for granted — the Big Bang, hereditary diseases mostly through DNA itself — a little shakier. So Brooks’ account is understandably speculative, just giving us a look at current thought in the field — the big ideas which could change the way we look at the world.

It’s reasonably easy to read, despite the big concepts, and I quite enjoyed it. If New Scientist works for you, then this is about the same level, to my mind. It covers a lot of areas of science and goes in-depth on none, so you certainly don’t need to be an expert. If you are finding the concepts a little difficult, I would suggest reading one chapter at a time and giving yourself time to digest the ideas — I did that with a couple of chapters.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Ancillary Mercy

Posted December 7, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Ancillary Mercy by Ann LeckieAncillary Mercy, Ann Leckie

For a while, I wasn’t sure how this book would or could wrap everything up, given the scale of the struggle that we began to see in Ancillary Justice. But I think, in the end, that comes down to the fact that the story isn’t actually about that struggle; this isn’t a never-ending epic struggle, it’s about one person — one fragment of a person, even, slowly becoming a person. It’s about Justice of Toren, and Breq, and then also about the people she interacts with: Seivarden, Ekalu, Ship, Station, Sphene… It’s about people and tangled loyalties and learning.

This makes the small stuff — the tea, the bureaucracy, Tisarwat’s purple eyes, Medic’s attempts to help Seivarden — all-important. So it’s great to see the bit where Seivarden and Breq negotiate mutual comfort; great to see the part where Seivarden struggles to apologise to Ekalu — and then later manages to really apologise to Ekalu. This passage was just so important, because it’s such a sign of how far Seivarden’s come, and such an important thing for people to realise:

“I’ve been thinking about it, and I still don’t understand exactly why what I said hurt you so much. But I don’t need to. It hurt you, and when you told me it hurt you, I should have apologised and stopped saying whatever it was. And maybe spent some time trying to understand. Instead of insisting that you manage your feelings to suit me. And I want to say I’m sorry. And I actually mean it this time.”

Now that’s the way to apologise, sincerely, even when you still don’t understand.

Also, this book does include glimpses of the wider world, beyond the Radch — mentions of the aliens, the presence of another Presger translator, etc. If you’re in this to see Anaander Miaanai go down, then I think you’ll be disappointed with the way the trilogy ends; if you’re in this for Breq and Seivarden and the people gathering around them, then this is an excellent ending.

Well, not an ending, but a good place to stop. You know that Breq will carry on, Seivarden will carry on, and they will still struggle and Anaander will still scheme and Tisarwat has a long way to go. But, “In the end, it’s only ever been one step, and then the next.”

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Tombs of Atuan

Posted December 6, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le GuinThe Tombs of Atuan, Ursula Le Guin

This always used to be my favourite of the series, both for sheer atmosphere and because it featured a female-centred world, in complete contrast to the first book. It’s almost the opposite, in that way: Ged isn’t the POV character anymore, and instead we follow Arha/Tenar, seeing her experience in a different land, seeing Ged as an outsider. That latter is especially fun, because though he talks about not learning Ogion’s lessons, it seems that he really has. And there was always an attraction for the dark rituals, Arha’s dance in front of the Empty Throne, the drums struck softly at heart-pace. Le Guin didn’t just blindly throw together a bunch of superstitions and fake rituals: it hangs together as a cohesive whole, and the fact that even the characters find the rituals meaningless, strange, the significances lost in time… that also works for me.

One image that always sticks with me is that of Ged asleep on the ground, the small thistle by his hand. That image somehow epitomises the book for me: his serenity and trust, his link to the world around him, and also the way Tenar sees him, truly sees him, alive and in the world and not at all a part of the dark existence she led before… it’s hard to put into words, but that image does it.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Raisins and Almonds

Posted December 5, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Raisins and Almonds by Kerry GreenwoodRaisins and Almonds, Kerry Greenwood

In my thoughts on Urn Burial, I wondered if one of Phryne’s lovers was ever going to be really exposed to danger, so that you don’t feel as if everyone around her lives a charmed life. Well, this one has a bit more threat to it — the confrontation chapter, in particular, was tense and a little shocking. I had the sense that it could’ve gone either way, and the desperation of other characters around Phryne who clearly believed that helped. The lengths they were prepared to go to, to save the character in question… yeah, I felt that more than I have for several books.

As for the plot itself, well — it’s typically dramatic, with Phryne getting tangled up in race issues again: this time not Chinese, but Jewish. I know that some people would probably call her a “Mary Sue” for being so adaptable to other people’s customs, but it makes sense with the character: her background, her generally accepting habits, the fact that she is definitely a lady.

One of the scenes was borrowed whole-cloth from Dorothy L. Sayers, which bothers me a little. I think often the homages are deliberate, but taking one of Harriet Vane’s lines to her future husband and putting it in the mouth of a character who will appear in one book, if the pattern holds? Hm. I don’t know if it was deliberate reference, unconscious plagiarism, or what, but it stood out like a sore thumb — Miss Lee joking to Phryne that she will always find her at home, when of course, she’s in prison and can’t leave. That line, in Sayers, tells us so much about Harriet, and yet here it feels wasted. Sigh.

Still, that’s a minor quibble, and for the most part this is a solid outing for Phryne.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Dancing on the Head of a Pin

Posted December 4, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Dancing on the Head of a Pin by Thomas SniegoskiDancing on the Head of a Pin, Thomas E. Sniegoski
Originally reviewed 14th August, 2011

Like the first book of the series, Dancing on the Head of a Pin is a quick and easy read — fluff, almost. I mean, okay, there’s some gruesome bits, and it’s an apocalypse, but it’s still very easy to read.

I sort of wish there’d been more to the mystery aspect, and also that there’d been more of a build-up. Once you’ve dealt with the apocalypse, how can you go back to figuring out who the banker’s wife is screwing? Well, in real life, easily, but in fiction? I do wish there’d been some sort of reasonable escalation: now it pretty much has to be the apocalypse in every book.

The best character is Marlowe. Hands down.

Obviously, there’s unfinished business in this book, and I’m interested in how that’s going to play out. Not so interested I need to grab the next book right now, though.

Have to say, though, it still makes me think this is professional Supernatural fanfic, starring Castiel — uh, Remiel — the private investigator, and Dean — sorry, Steve — the human with a “profound bond” — sorry, “special bond” — with him.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Creative Colouring for Grown Ups: Mandalas

Posted December 3, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Creative Colouring for Grown Ups: MandalasCreative Colouring for Grown Ups: Mandalas, Various Authors

I think this might be my favourite in the series so far. Unlike most of the other Creative Colouring for Grown Ups books I’ve seen in this series, this has background colours, which can really set the mandalas off if you pick the right colours, and the paper quality seems to be even better, too. The designs are printed on one side of the paper only, too, so there’s even less chance of colour leaking than with other books, like the Japanese patterns book.

There’s a good range of patterns, too, with various different styles. I love colouring mandalas, so that might make me biased, but I’ve really enjoyed doing the designs in this one. Especially because I have new 0.4mm markers and they work quite well with the detailed patterns.

Rating: 5/5

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